Category Archives: Paris: What we like

Some recommendations about the things we like to do in Paris

Paris: What we like

My Gay Paris: Weekend, an amazing movie

Week-end
A film by Andrew Haigh
With Tom Cullen, Chris New, Jonathan Race

Week-end is a movie about two guys who meet. The movie takes places in the London area, today.
Russel decides to go to a gay club. He eventually meets Glen and comes home with him.
During a weekend, they meet and share their life stories, because they feel lonely, and they are ready to open up to one another, without the filter of society, of the others.
In our opinion, Week-end is a movie which could be even qualified as the first gay movie, in the way that it depicts so accurately what being gay is about.

It is the story of what we experience as individuals and as a worldwide community, and beyond, it’s about how meeting someone, even for a week-end, can change our lives forever, because meeting another person can make you change the way you feel about the world, and about yourself.


This is a movie about our common quest: not only accepting ourselves as gay people, not only about make other people to accept it, but, even further, about accepting and rejecting love. Being gay is not simple, not only because we are a minority, and because the rights acquired over the past decades are never given. Everyone has a different opinion about our involvement in a relationship, in politics, in sex.

In a broader perspective, Week-end shows that being gay is not only a fight for ourselves or for us: it is about accepting oneself, as a person, as a human being, as an individual. The process of accepting ourselves can last forever, can last a whole life, and can be permanent, everyday. Meeting someone is opening up to a quest and a fight. It is about being ready to share someone’s life, and how this can, in return, change yours. This is all what Week-end is about.

To check out where it is playing, visit allocine.com and search for “week-end”.

Posted on April 25, 2012 by admin| 1 Comment

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Paris: What we like

My Gay Paris: Interview of the Australian artist and politicial David Hinchliffe, customer of Absolu Living

Absolu Travel : How did you become a painter ? You have been painting from a very early age, how did this develop?
My father, my grand-father, my brother are journalists. We have a very strong writing ethic. But before my father became a journalist, he also painted, as a young man. He was very good and won competitions. When I was growing up and also won competitions, my father said that it was very good, but also that artists lead miserable lives, that they don’t make any money, that people don’t respect them. He did anything possible to discourage me. So I became a politician! But people had even less respect for politicians… But I’ve been painting and sold paintings since I was 10 years old. I had a number of passions. Painting was one, but I also wanted to change things, and be involved in the political process. And I’ve done both.

A.T: Can you tell us more about the way you work, and your creative process?
20 years ago, I would have had a totally different answer. Back then, I was into expressionnism, abstraction, conceptual painting. I wanted my work to be cutting-edge modern painting. Now my work has become more and more conservative. I respond as a visual artist to the things of beauty around me. I’m less concerned about making powerful statements that I am about paiting something that moves me. I feel that a lot of young artists feel the need to reinvent painting. I no longer have that feeling. I paint oil on canvas. I throw a lot of paint on, water. I cover the surface. When I travel, I build my paintings from photographs.

A.T: If you could choose one work of art, which has inspired you the most, what would it be?
It’s a very hard question. Rather than one painting, Picasso and Matisse were the great masters of the last century. I also love Bacon, Hockney. I saw my first Picasso painting in Brisbane. It was La belle hollandaise. It’s a small painting from the pink period. That didn’t change my work but I wanted to know more about Picasso. Picasso said that modern art is mostly a fraud. He talked about learning how to paint, and then unlearning. Now I understand what he means.

A.T: How do you feel about Paris, how do you perceive the city?
It’s the most beautiful city in the world. I love the idea that certains parts of the city haven’t changed a lot. Sure, there are cars, and telephones, and computers… But essentially, the city is the same beautiful city that it was 100 or 150 years ago. Paris is a person to me. I’m in love with her.

A.T: How do you feel about the Marais in particular?

The first place I stayed at when I came to Paris in 1974, it was a youth hostel in the Marais. I don’t know where it is now. The building would still be there. Obviously, in the last 30 or 40 years, the Marais has become more and more popular, trendy, stylish, and therefore more expensive. Back then it was not considered a fashionable place for tourists to be staying. It has changed like all inner-city areas of all the big cities around the world. They discovered the center of gravity, the center of their soul, in the old parts of the city. I’m also an urban politician. The city is both my job and my passion. The area I represent in Brisbane is in the center of the city.

A.T: You will soon retire from your political career, what are your projects?
Painting. That’s it. I’ve been a consellor for 24 years.

A.T:  How did your stay at AbsoluTravel apartment go?
Fantastic. I always travel to apartments, I don’t like hotels. It is exactly as it is advertised. It’s a good price. It gave me the ability to paint.

Posted on April 10, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

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Paris: What we like

My Gay Paris: The Eagle Has Landed Four Years On

It might only have celebrated its fourth birthday last week, but Paris gay bar the Eagle has certainly managed to ruffle a few feathers since it opened back in 2008.

The slightly provocative name might give you something of an idea of what to expect—especially if you’ve visited an Eagle in New York or London. To be clear, there’s no connection with this Eagle and the others (at least as far as we know) but the style is very much the same, ranging from cruisey to downright sleazy.

Now a firm favourite on the Marais party circuit, it has two very distinct areas with two very distinct atmospheres. Upstairs, on the main level, is a friendly bar area which doesn’t differ too much from some of the other gay venues in the neighbourhood, though there is a strict men-only policy and you’re a lot less likely to hear campy music. The other visitors, though, are what you’d expect from a bar which has plenty of space to play in the dark room downstairs …

Things are a little more exciting downstairs, though, where you can find darkrooms, a maze, cages and more. We’re sure you don’t need us to tell you what you’ll find down there, but we’re happy to report that they keep a very clean house!

We hear the fourth birthday party was a blast, and we wish the Eagle well in the future!

WHAT: The Eagle Bar
WHERE: 33 bis, rue des Lombards, métro Châtelet (or walk from the Marais)
WHEN: every night til late

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Sam| Leave a comment

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Paris: What we like

My Gay Paris: The end of the fall/winter 2012-13 fashion week!

The Paris fashion week for fall/winter 2012-2012 just ended. Looking at its outcome, many observers say that Paris is, without a doubt, the world fashion capital. Forget about Milano or New York! Paris is where everything is happening in fashion. The shows organized by Louis Vuitton and Miu Miu closed this session. About a year ago, with the scandal surrounding the antisemitic declarations of John Galliano, the former creative director of Dior, the atmosphere was not at all the same. Even with the economic crisis, we are not back to something more positive, full of creativity and enthousiasm.

There is a strong influence of the New Wave of the 1980s and 1990s among the current fashion designers. There is also a fascination for modernity and urbanism: Balenciaga chose to present its collection at the top of a tall buidling of the Beaugrenelle area, near the Eiffel Tower.


Hermès chose to use velvet, which is, in that case, an influence of the 1970s. Italian brands such as Diesel and Gucci also chose to use it for their upcoming collection. The colors are more discreet, as the last trends were all about orange and red. You will want to use very large scarves, according to Vuitton. It has to be worn under a jacket. A lot of brands, in Milano and Paris, such as Yves Saint-Laurent or Hermès, used leather, but only concerning shoes or jackets, not fully equipped. There is also an influence of military clothing (Dior Homme). Leather, and military jackets… All of this is meant to be very masculine. Lastly, the fur collar will keep you warm, according to Yves-Saint-Laurent.


So this hints at what guys will look like next winter, if you ever come to think about this while the sun is finally coming back.

Posted on March 19, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

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Paris: What we like

My Gay Paris: Paris Goes Crazy For Designer Burgers, Part 2

For the time being, spring in Paris most certainly hasn’t sprung and when it gets round the evening, we’re still more than happy to tuck into a nice juicy burger, washed down with a few beers—or a glass of red wine—to keep out the cold.

A few weeks ago, we featured the current craze for designer burgers that’s been gripping Paris restaurants, with chefs trying all sorts of tricks to out-do each other and creating ever-more elaborate versions of what is ultimately a rather humble fast-food staple.

Well, they really are everywhere. If you’d like to try one, here are a few more of Paris’ up-and-coming burger joints:

American Bistrot— 74, rue de la Folie Méricourt

The name says it all here: the two founders went on a road-trip across the United States and wanted to recreate the experience they enjoyed in diners along the way when they got back to Paris. The aim is to be as authentic as possible, of course, but even if it’s not quite the real deal, the location more than makes up for it: this one is the lively 11th arrondissement, close to a lot of great (and often cheap!) bars.

 Mansart — 1, rue Mansart

This place is decidedly hip, with a crowd of bright young things packing it out most nights. It’s busy but a whole lot of fun and in the hip South Pigalle area. The same team also run Le Floréal on the other side of town, which also serves a great burger, so if you know that, then you’ll get the idea.  The vibe is definitely more bar than restaurant, with many of the customers here to line their stomachs before moving on elsewhere.

Maison Mère — 4, rue de Navarin

This one isn’t far away and some of its fans would have you believe that it’s the best of the bunch. Five burgers are on offer, as well as a fuller (but still rather meat-heavy) menu. It’s all rather hype—the staff all wear jeans donated by Levi’s, for example—but delicious nonetheless.

Big Fernand — 55, rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière

This places bills itself as a ‘hamburger workshop’, with customers choosing not just the type of burger they want, but all the sauces, extras and so on from a list with a decidedly local flavour. If it’s a cheeseburger you’re after, for instance, you can expect some French favourites, rather than plastic hamburger cheese, while the pickles make way for things like grilled peppers or sundried tomatoes … The waiters are decked out in berets too add to the French atmosphere.

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Sam| Leave a comment

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